Reviews

My wife and I moved to the lower mainlaind a couple of years ago. We were excited about the prospect of trying a new dining experience a month. We've eaten at some great places, but keep coming back to Chambar b/c we know what to expect of the food and service. The mussels are a particluar favorite of mine and great to share, I like all three offerings. Their selection of Trappiste beer is top notch. It may seem silly to pay 10+ dollars for a glass of beer, but what a wonderful accompaniment to any meal. My favorite is the WESTMALLE TRIPEL. It is the fact that they have a unique and inspiring selection of brew compared to most places. The deserts are also very well done. I honestly have yet to get better anywhere else. My wife loves the belge waffle, though they do refresh the menu so dishes come and go. I like them all. The atmosphere is always buzzing and it makes it a fun place to be. If your wanting a quiet evening to chat, it will be difficult to find it here. The last word is about Chambar's service; Warm, professional, friendly. Whether we've spent a little or a lot, the service has remained consistent.

Went to Chambar last Saturday night, didn't have reservations so ended up in the high table lounge across from the kitchen. As soon as you enter, you notice how loud the place is. Its a long and somewhat narrow restaurant, the front has a lounge, the bar, and dinning tables. As you walk past the kitchen area to the dining room in the back, there are high top tables with bar stools which is where we dined and it was much quieter and we actually enjoyed sitting there between the two dining rooms and we just might request the same table (they consider this the lounge as well so no reservations required) the next time we go to Chambar.

We experienced very good service, yes it was busy but our server did get around to us and besides we were not in any hurry. With regard to the ambiance, you feel as if you were in NY in an old Manhattan warehouse style restaurant with open beams and piping, it was quite nice and different from granite, glass, and steel. The food was absolutely fantastic. The famous mussels did not disappoint. My wife had the lamb, and I had the arctic char, both were super flavorful and delicious. And did I mention the cocktails? They have the most unique blends of cocktails, very cool. Bottom line - some of the most delicious food you can find in Vancouver and very reasonable prices. We had two cocktails, mussels, two entres, a desert, and two americanos total bill with gratuity was $135, super deal!! We are already making plans to go back next weekend!!

I came here for my birthday earlier this year with a small group and the food was incredible. The famous mussels didn't let us down, the appetizers were a treat, and everyone was satisfied. Our waiter was professional but not exactly friendly - understandable, they're busy. The decor is just right - not over done, small and intimate, yet trendy in the most appropriate way. I will be returning soon for a 2nd round!

The hubby and I went out to Chambar for our 2 year anniversary. I had been once before so I knew exactly what to expect. This was my husbands first time. I must say, it was much noisier than I had remembered it! The menu must have changed. I thought I had ordered something that I had before, but clearly it wasn't what I had before and I didn't enjoy it AT ALL!!! On a higher note, the steaks we had were AMAZING!!! So yummy I finished my entire steak... including the onion on top! I drank the Fee de Bohem all night long which was an amasing drink made with absinth!!! mmm, so good. Dessert was also great.
All in all, a solid night out and one the hubby and I will remember from years to come. Would I go back? I would... with a large group of people though (the best way to enjoy a noisy ambiance is with a large group of people). Excellent!

Went to Chambar last week and the food was good, the service was good but the tables are too close to each other.
l'assiette du chasseur (venison) is very good with nice flavors.
mussels are a very good idea to share.
Chambar is a good restaurant, we will be back again.

All around great dining experience from the friendly woman on the phone making our reservation to the pleasant waitress. Food was beautifully presented and even better tasting. Prices were right on the money for the portion and the location. Overall just a wonderful little neighborhood place with a friendly staff and great kitchen

I initially went here for a company dinner, which is always a good time try and share dishes. There were six of us and everyone was more than satisfied with their orders. We shared a beautiful Mussels Congolaise where you can taste all the flavors and love that went into it. Hints of cilantro, ginger, and a bit if spice (was it cumin?) in a tomato cream sauce. I had the Arctic char on a bed of greens which melted in my mouth. My colleague had the much heartier tajine medley (really too much food if you decide on appetizer as well). On a return visit, my partner and I had the octopus appetizer, interesting but good. I also tried the steak, well-cooked but without much taste. I tried the lamb as well, much better than the steaks. Dessert of course was ice cream, dreamy. My bill on the second visit came to almost $100 for two including tips and no drinks, hey this is Canada after all. The wines at about $12 per glass seemed a bad value, best to drink before or after you go. Service was knowledgeable, cheerful, and timely. Would definitely go back, when I have more money.

We unexpectedly showed up at Chambar with a group of friends after eating a large meal (and drinking several bottles of wine) at another downtown restaurant. We had no idea we'd be at Chambar, otherwise we would have saved our appetite!

I knew of the noise, the menu, and I had walked past a few times before, but all things considered, I expected nothing when I walked through those doors. Needless to say, everything was perfect.

The decor was warm and inviting. Trendy? Sure, but it works. Steps above the typical trendy try-hard scene you'd find elsewhere in this city. Lots of deep reds and gold. Very classy.

Service was fantastic. Prompt, professional, friendly, and attentive, but not snobbish or annoying or forgetful.

The blue fig martini is divine. Comes with a side of Danish blue cheese. The sprig of anise on plate was a beautiful touch.

The Belgian beer selection was tempting.

We shared the duck foie gras. The foie gras was perfectly firm and absolutely scrumptious. It was served with frozen berries and the most delectable toasted briche flavoured in truffle oil. The brioche was like eating the most delicate cake ever made.

The fresh bread and butter served before the entree was fresh baked out of the oven and the smell was addictive.

For the entree (keeping in mind this was AFTER we already ate at a previous restaurant), we decided to share the venison, after spying on our friend's plate. Tender morsels cooked perfectly rare. The sausage was juicy and flavourful and the mushrooms/bean concoction went very nicely.

Too full for dessert, but the dessert menu will certainly be taken advantage of next time. We did have a nice espresso - the perfect end to a great night.

Our experience at this restaurant was mediocre. The ambiance in this restaurant is wonderful.....comfortable, modern, and a great view if you are lucky enough to sit beside the window or in one of the booths. It can get a little noisy...but this didn't really bother us at all.
The food was great. We had the ostrich carpaccio, which was well presented and very tender. We then ordered the pommes frites, (which were just very expensive french fries, but still very tasty), a flat iron steak, which was cooked to perfection but came with an extremely dry mashed potato (thank goodness for the french fries) and a lamb tagine with couscous. The lamb was delicious, tender and very flavorful. The beer selection is great and the basil cran martini was surprisingly yummy!
The service was NOT great. Basically our waiter was snobby, rude and clearly thought he was something special (which I promise you he was not). At the end of the nite we had to go in search of our coats after he disappeared without offering to retrieve them for us. He was attentive, however his bad attitude and rudeness was appalling. I wanted to complain to management, however the rest of the people working there seemed to have similar attitudes.
Overall, the food was good and so was the atmosphere, but this restaurant needs to brush up on their service, smile and have a little fun!

Went for a friend's bday dinner...we shared the mussels and they were the best i've had; very tender and not chewy at all...also had the fois gras terrine...for main I had the smoked black cod and it was absolutely delicious...the cod melted in my mouth and the cream sauce on the bottom was a great compliment...I definitely recommend it. The portion was size was a bit on the small side, but i guess its expected...the lamb shank was also quite good, however it paled in comparison with the black cod...The service was great...the ambience was nice...very nice place for an intimate dinner or special occasion...will visit again

Highly enjoyed my dinner at Chambar.
Food was wonderful. Their Foie Gras was truly authentic with a raspberry compote for a bit of "zing". Asparagus Truffle Salad was soft and delicious. Lamb Tagine was excellent, especially loved the delicate fig pieces in the cous cous. The Halibut was also nice. A large and fine wine selection also.
Ambience was nice. Decor is gorgeus, paintings and the loft stye is nice. Only complaint was that the tables were inches apart making it difficult to have an intimate dinner.
Service was prompt and excellent. High class!
For a nice dinner this restaurant is a definate, for a romantic evening, I might look somewhere with a bit more division between tables.

Went here on friday for the dine out menu. Its was a good menu but the ambiance of the restuarant is kind of hard to pinpoint. We were put right at the entrance so it was a pretty busy spot. I have sat in the back during previous vists where it is more like a restuarant vs a bar and the music was loud and went from headbanging to jazz.

The food was solid and tastly but in the future I would ask to be put at the back of the restaurant. The mussels are definitely the menu item to ask for at this establishment.

I looked at some reviews beforehand and had high expectations. Perhaps one problem with reading reviews is that you do have expectations and sometimes it's just best to try something with an open mind.

I went to Chambar for a birthday dinner so I got to try a few dishes. I don't drink alcohol so I cannot offer any insight on the many Belgian beers that are offered. I started with the maple glazed scallops. The plate had a diameter of about 12" and three small scallops were plated in the centre. I understand this plating technique, but my appetizer was almost a mockery of this plating style. It looked rather ridiculous. Anyways, I didn't taste any maple but the scallops were tasty nonetheless because of the salad-like mixture they sat upon.

I also tried the venison carpaccio, octopus ceviche, and lamb. I'm not too fond of venison so I don't have anything to say about the venison. The octopus was sliced very thinly and somewhat, which made it difficult to eat as it stuck to the plate. The extreme thinness resulted in very little flavor. The lamb came with lamb tenderloin, lamb sausage, and some salad. The sausage was tasty as sausage usually is, but the tenderloin was dry and tough. It didn't have a good lamb flavor either. Perhaps I'm just used to lamb chops.

For the entrees everyone except me had mussels. I don't like mussels so I had the artic char. I really did not like the fish. It was so bland. A nice glaze of anything would have helped. The risotto was dry and I found that odd as I usually like my food drier than most so for me to say a risotto was dry means it was really dry. Overall, my entree was boring.

I did try a mussel and the broth was good, but the mussel itself didn't pick up too much of the broth flavour. The Beglian fries were delicious. I love fries as these fries were nice and salty just the way I like them.

I probably wouldn't go again, but if you like mussels you should at least try Chambar.

Locals in Gastown have a good thing with Medina, Dirty Apron and Chambar at their door steps. The DOV $38 menu was fabulous opportunity to experience Chambar and their standby favorites.

For starters, my companion and I ordered: (i) Carpaccio de Thon Rouge Charred yellow fin tuna Carpaccio, shiso & sesame pesto, shaved Parmesan, Meyer lemon & jalapeño vinaigrette and (ii) the Cappuccino de Champignon Forest mushroom soup, truffle foam, herb goat cheese croquette. Beautifully plated and servings are small but appropriate for rich food with lots of flavour. The tuna Carpaccio is as good as any I’ve tried. The soup is poured at the table so the croquette stays crunchy. Pretty fancy comfort food!

For our entrees, we had (i) Duo de Boeuf Moroccan braised beef short ribs, chick pea charmoula, grilled kabob, spiced zucchini, mint & cilantro salad and (ii) L'omble de L'Arctique Crisp Arctic char, curried risotto, pickled cucumber, yogurt & eggplant caviar. The short rib came with the bone removed and quite tender in reduction juice. The lamb with humus was “gamely” but not overwhelming. Arctic char is like “salmon” but I loved the crispness of it. The risotto was a tad undercooked and salty (maybe it was the caviar?) but nothing a drink couldn’t wash down.

To end the night, we had Americano coffee with (i) Le Fromage a selection of BC cheese and (ii) Parfait au citron frozen lemon soufflé, coconut dacquoise, toasted meringue, pie crust ice cream. The cheese was gobbled up before I could taste much of it but comes with pear, blueberry jam, in-house crisps and sampling of nuts. My lemon soufflé had a light coconut crust base and complimented well with a dollop of vanilla ice cream and almond slices. You don't realize how rich it is until you're finish.

The service was attentive and we finished our 3 course meal within 1.5 hr. The atmosphere was cozy and casual. The room is small, retaining the old world charm of Gastown (brick & mortar) but has nice modern touches. Check it out if you’re in this historic part of town and want to try European cuisine.

Me and my friend came here for the last week of DOV 2012. Been to over 10 restaurants since DOV 2012 began. So we kinda have an idea or expectation that it might not be as good as regular times. However, this is seriously worst DOV experience we ever ever had!! Where should I begin? The 20 min wait for the table even we already made the reservation or mediocre food or the worst part the server didn’t explain the DOV menu then charged us the full prices for one appy and one main course? I will just describe the worst the part. Like normal customers, me and my friend both ordered appy, main course and dessert separately. Here is the key point, I added Foie gras and 8 oz steak on the side as it appeared on the “DOV menu” Foie Gras (add $8) under appetizer section and 8 oz steak (add $10) under main course section. At the point, the server still didn’t say or explain anything. So I just assumed extra 8 dollars more for the Foie Gras cuz that’s how it is on Five Sails restaurant DOV menu. I’ll skip complaining the food part, otherwise I will be writing an essay here. So till the bill came, we were charged full prices on Foir Gras (just one piece) for $18 and 8 oz steak for $48 (even Gotham T bones only costs $48!) We talked to the waitress. She merely said what I ordered is the 3rd appy and 3rd main course and we only have 2 ppl so they have to be charged full prices. There are no fine prints or any explanation saying full prices be4 I ordered the 3rd dishes and did I even mention earlier it’s under DOV menu!! We know it is NOT how it works on other upscale restaurants we’ve been too. So we paid whatever it’s on the bill and decide not going back forever. I think ppl out there should be aware this is how they run their restaurant. Terrible service.

We had been we a few times in the past for birthdays and other special dates so when a friend and his wife came up from Portland and we went there we were happy enough with the food, the service was definitely slower than in the past which was sad as we all know the cost we pay when we go here, (we expect to be treated well for the money we are spending), the plates finally start to arrive on the table and my husband were shocked how things had changed, portions had changed, not to mention something I asked to have removed due to allergies was still in there, when the waiter finally made his way back over to the table I told him and he was smug and finally after I stood up (I was going to find a manager) he finally took it back to the kitchen to replace it, I guess he expected me to eat it after all, after it was all said and done the manager was involved and we all ended up with free desert (whipped dee doo) ... we were all hungry after we left there.
It’s no longer the same and it’s no longer worth the wait.

Every now and then I get a craving for the mussels and fries at Chambar. However, on my most recent visit, the service was unusually slow and unattentive. Perhaps the reason is because we sat in the front bar area instead of the back where the main restaurant is?

The food was a let down this time as well. My bucket of mussels was loaded with unopened mussels. Must have been a bad batch. It made me afraid to eat the ones that did open.

I'm not a beer drinker but my friends are and they universally give high praise to the beer menu in this place.

I'll probably give it one more try in a few months since I've been really happy here in the past.

Spent a birthday dinner for two here. Despite it being a Tues. night, it was relatively busy. The staff were wonderfully accomodating. We were seated in the lounge area in a nice cosy little enclave. The Belgian Beers were exemplary and delicious. Both of us being vegetarian, our choices were limited. However, they were very accomodating again to the extent of giving us two choices which did not include the usual boring Risotto offering that most restaurants provide. The food was some of the best gourmet vegetarian we have ever had. The service was fantastic!! Definitely going back.

So, i've been slowly working my way through the highest rated and best restaurants in Vancouver and tonight I finally made it to Chambar. I've heard it was good before but every time i tried to book it was either full or the times didn't work. This is my own fault as I always call on the night i'm going somewhere and just see who's got spaces available.
Anyway, as usual i called, they had a table in 3 hours at 9pm which was too late but i thought i'd just call down anyway and take a spot in the lounge which is drop in. On arrival, the lounge turned out to be a couple of knee height tables at the front door, more of a drinks spot and I didn't fancy a seat at a bar for a high end restuarnat like this. We were about to leave when the Maitre de cut us a break and gave us a table in the main restuarant, which was, to be fair, completely full. SO, Great start!

For the starters we had some fish carpachio which was better than any beef carpacchio i have ever tried... If i hadn't known i would never have guessed it was fish actually.. Truly amazing flavours and tastes. My wife had the Terrine, which was smooth, creamy and served with what looked like french toast, which actually tasted better than the pate.. both beautiful. My daughter had a tapas selection, loved the shrimp, but a bit suspicious of the chilli and anchovy sauce.. I tried it and it was ok, but to be fair i'd never eaten a whole chilli before... Not my thing normally.

Mains we had Steak, Lamb and duck breast for my daughter. All were honestly amazing, with outstanding presentation and little accompaniments for sides that i'd never seen before.. Cool bruscettas, cus cus and some sort of mini dumpling.

Overall the experience was fantastic. Enough so that i felt compelled to write my first review of a restaurant despite trying pretty much all of the top ones in Vancouver.

Pricewise this place ain't cheap costing about $250 for the three of us including one glass of wine and one beer but for me, defiantly worth it